The Past Isn't Written in Stone
by blueaeryn1
Summary: Lucas and Peyton are happy and expecting their first child. What happens when an innocent trip to the past brings shocking results.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure about this," Lucas Scott asked grasping the steering wheel of the SUV he had borrowed from his friend Brooke Davis. "I mean, your sugar daddy is making some serious money now."

He looked over at his wife Peyton Sawyer Scott and saw her try to suppress a smile as she lifted her right hand to open the door to the vehicle. Lucas drew in a deep breath and let it out. That meant only one thing. They were doing this.

"Come on, Lucas, I think this will be great," she informed him. "Part of history and all." Peyton walked around to the front of the vehicle and waited for him to join her.

She placed her palm on her bulging abdomen and stroked her hand back and forth. Lucas stopped in mid stride to watch her actions. He felt his groin tighten at the scene. He would feel bad about it, a pregnant woman turning him on so.

But this was his pregnant woman – his Peyton. They had gone through so much to get to this moment – married, happy and expecting a child. Sometimes he worried it was all a dream and he would wake up without her. But that hadn't happened yet and each day he let himself believe just a little bit more that this was really his life.

Lucas ambled over to meet her and took her hand. They walked together to the large self-storage unit. The facility was in a remote part of Tree Hill and the parking area was just gravel. He looked at the row and row of storage units and shook his head.

"What?" Peyton asked as she dropped his hand to fumble in her purse.

"Nothing." Lucas stepped back and held up his hands. He still couldn't believe he was out here about to rummage through the shed. All for something they could buy new at the store.

"Here it is," Peyton said pulling the key to the storage unit out of her purse. "My dad sent me the key when I came back." She dangled the small bronze key in front of him, a TRIC keychain hung from the key.

"Bet you don't know something," Peyton said smiling widely. She walked over to the sliding door of the unit.

"What don't I know," Lucas said with a slight drawl. He walked up beside Peyton and took the key from her hand. "Let me," he told her.

"You don't know that my car, the Comet," she put inflection on the word comet and giggled.

Lucas looked her in the eye and grinned then dipped his head. After all secrets were out and truths revealed it really was embarrassing he didn't even realize his second book was all about Peyton Sawyer.

"That my car," Peyton continued. "Was stored in that storage unit right there." She pointed to the unit beside the one they were opening.

"I was going to sell it," she continued. "But my dad said I loved that car so much and it was such a part of me I should just hold on to it. That he would store it for me."

"Good thing I did," Peyton winked at Lucas and then brushed a hand across her tummy where their unborn child rested within her.

"It was the best thing you did," Lucas told her leaning down to plant a kiss on her lips. "Besides marrying me, of course." He returned the wink she had flashed him earlier.

"I for one think you should feel lucky I said yes," she teased.

Not long ago they couldn't have teased this way because emotions were too raw. But there comes a time in your life when you realize you really are with the right person and all the hurt and drama of the past just fades away.

"Well that goes without saying," Lucas told her as he placed the small key in the lock and clicked it open. He took Peyton's arm and stepped back with her as he used his other hand to swing the door wide open.

"Wow," he said. Scanning the storage unit piled high with a lifetime full of items. "Didn't your dad take anything with him when he moved away?"

"I am sure he did," Peyton told Lucas as she walked from his side and started to make her way into the unit. She reached over and flipped on the light switch illuminating the dark area.

"Peyton," Lucas warned. He rushed up and took her arm again. "Be careful, okay, there is stuff everywhere. You could trip or …."

Peyton kicked up a half grin at him. Lucas had been like this since the moment she informed him she was pregnant. Of course it didn't help that the first three months of her pregnancy they weren't even sure if she could carry the baby to term. There had been early complications and every day Peyton woke up surprised the baby was still nestled inside her. But that had passes and now she was just like any other healthy pregnant woman but she couldn't convince Lucas of that. It was as if he wanted to wrap her in cotton.

"How many times do I have to tell you I am just pregnant," Peyton grinned widely at him.

"And I want you to stay that way." Lucas said grasping her hand.

"How long?" She tugged on his hand. "You want me to be pregnant forever?" She was teasing.

Lucas chuckled. "No," he drug out. "Just the typical nine months. And then we get our little girl." Lucas placed his hand on her abdomen.

"You are determined this baby is a girl, aren't you?" Peyton placed her hand on his. "Even though we didn't want to know on the ultrasound."

"It can only be girl," Lucas said with confidence. "A little girl with dark blonde ringlets, beautiful green eyes and a passion for art and music."

"I think if it is a girl she should have her daddy's eyes," Peyton added. "And maybe a killer fade away jump shot."

"I would like that," Lucas said leaning down to place a kiss on Peyton's temple. "Hmm, me the coach of a girl's basketball team, I can see that."

"Or she could be a cheerleader," Peyton joked. "Maybe she would be cheery."

They laughed together sharing their history. It was a part of them, always, their history but also part of their future.

"How about we get what we came for and get out of here," Lucas suggested. "I have the sudden urge to take my pregnant wife to bed."

"Oh, yeah, let's go," Peyton agreed.

Lucas parted from her and walked to the back of the storage unit. "Found it," he called as Peyton wandered through the unit. "Are you sure you want to use your old baby crib," he held up pieces of it to her.

"Yeah, it comforts me to know my mom stood at the same crib I will be and watched me sleep," Peyton said. "It will be like she is there."

"Okay," Lucas said as he started to haul the pieces out to the SUV. "You got it."

Peyton started picking up items and looking at them, allowing each item to bring back specific memories. Looking in a box marked Ana, Peyton rummaged through it until she found an old music box. She opened it and sweet strains of music wafted from it. She rubbed her hand across the light brown box and as she was about to close it, she noticed a piece of the cloth inside was torn. She lifted it up and when she did, she noticed paper inside.

Lifting it more, she pulled out what now was revealed as envelopes. She took them out, and sat the music box down. The music still playing, she took one of the letters and opened. She anticipated a letter written to her mother from her father and couldn't wait to see their history. However, what she saw wasn't a fairytale, far from it. It was more like a nightmare.

The first three words of the letter shattered her world forever – "My dearest Dan" the letter began.


	2. Chapter 2

"Luke," her call to him was barely a whisper. Peyton staggered a bit and dropped her hand holding the letter. She placed her other hand on her protruding stomach seeking solace from the baby nestled inside her. "Luke," she tried calling his voice again, this time a bit louder.

"Peyton," she heard Lucas call. There was a sound of him running from outside the storage area and then she heard a thud. "Damn it," she heard him cuss and then he appeared in the doorway.

Lucas' jeans were covered in dirt, and there was a small scratch on his right arm. He rubbed his hand across his short blonde hair and then rushed to her.

"Peyton," he said her name again as he came up beside her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "What's wrong?" He turned her to him and placed his hand on hers, that was resting on her stomach. "Is it the baby?'

She could only shake her head no. She lifted her hand that still held the letter and handed it to him. "No," she ground out. "It's this."

Lucas took the letter and threw her a quizzical glance until he too read the first three words of the letter – "My dearest Dan," He furrowed his brow and threw the offending letter to the ground.

"What the hell," Lucas ground out as he stepped away. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Peyton answered. "You don't think it is …." She couldn't bring herself to say it. The Dan in the letter couldn't be the Dan they both knew – Dan Scott. The Dan Scott who was Lucas father, a man who would never claim him, who killed Lucas' beloved Uncle Keith, the same man who was to be her baby's grandfather, in theory anyway. And the same man who it seems was having an affair with her own beloved mother, Ana.

"No," Lucas said as she shook his head back and forth. "It is probably something…" Lucas began to say until his gaze dropped to the letter and he read further.

_My Dearest Dan,_

_I am writing you this letter to tell you I can't do this anymore. It is tearing me apart and I can't do this to my husband anymore. Larry has always been there for me. He took the job on that boat so he could provide a better life for me and for our daughter, Peyton._

_It was easy to be with you while Larry was gone. You are exciting and fun and for a time held at bay the loneliness that plagued me. But the call I got from Larry this evening further fueled the guilt I feel. He was so excited to tell me he was coming home and how much he missed me and our daughter._

_I will always remember our time together with fondness and perhaps love._

_Ana_

_September, 18, 1994_

Lucas didn't realize he had began reading the letter aloud until he heard Peyton gasp when he finished. "What?" He furrowed his brow.

"The date of the letter," Peyton began before taking the letter from Lucas' grasp. "It was the day before my mother's accident. The day before she died."

"Oh my god," Lucas said. He searched Peyton's features. She looked to be in shock and then he saw something else cross her beautiful features. A look of terror and then a flash of pain.

"Lucas," she said in a vulnerable whisper. "Something is wrong," Peyton gasped as she clutched her abdomen.

Lucas looked down to see blood trickling down her thigh just before Peyton's eyes fluttered and she collapsed against him.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucas tried to drag in a breath but he could only bring in so much air before his whole body began to convulse. He bit his lip slightly trying to hold back the tears and he felt his hands shake as he placed them on his head, resting his forearms on his knees.

He was falling a part, just like his life. Lucas Scott's whole life was just a mere few feet from him, behind a white door with a round window. Life was going on around him. People talking, people laughing, people crying - but his life was at a standstill waiting for someone dressed in a silly green gown and a cap on their head to come out of that door and tell him if he still had a life.

Lucas felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into the face of Brooke Davis – his wife's best friend and his former girlfriend. It was a twisted past they all had, it seemed all of them were intimately connected in some form or fashion. But all that remained between him self and Brooke was a true friendship and an utter love and devotion to Peyton Sawyer Scott. It was no surprise the first one he called after handing Peyton off to the doctors was Brooke and no surprise again she was the first to arrive. They were always there for each other.

"Lucas," she rubbed his shoulder. "Have they said anything."

He simply shook his head no and then dropped his head again to stare at his feet and the tile on the floor.

"How long has it been?" Brooke kept her hand on his shoulder but also took a seat beside him.

"Too long." Lucas broke contact with Brooke by jumping up from his seat to begin pacing. "They just took her from me and wouldn't let me go with her." Lucas spread his arms wide and then dropped them quickly at his side. "She was awake by then and she kept calling my name and reaching out her hands to me."

Brooke came to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "She is going to be fine," Brooke whispered in Lucas' ear. "P. Sawyer has been through more hell then I could ever imagine. She is tough and so is the baby."

"Oh god," Lucas said stepping from Brooke. "I haven't even thought of the baby." He placed his hands on the top of his head. "What kind of man am I? All I could think about was Peyton. But our baby is in danger too."

"Hey," Brooke said. "Don't even go there." Brooke took his hand. "You are an amazing man, a wonderful husband and you are going to be a great father."

"If I get the chance," Lucas said. He looked up at Brooke and she saw the tears streaming down his face. "I can't do this if she doesn't make it," he admitted.

"Do what?" Brooke took his hand and led him back to a chair and forced him to sit.

"Go on," Lucas told her. "All the times we missed each other or I walked away." He took a ragged breath. "All the time we wasted. And the past, all our future."

"You stop right there." Brooke glared at him. "Nothing is happening to Peyton or your baby. Do you hear me? Nothing."

Lucas shook his head yes but his eyes were full of doubt. Lucas was used to tragedy, as was his Peyton. Why should this be any different?

"Lucas," a female voice called. He looked up to see Haley rushing toward him. He got up and she ran to him engulfing him in a hug. Nathan followed behind her, but he simply hung back and let the two best friends comfort each other – his wife and his brother.

"How is she," Nathan finally asked.

"We don't know anything," Brooke volunteered the information.

"Lucas I am so sorry," Lucas heard a deep timbre voice say as he was clinging to Haley. He looked up into the eyes of Dan Scott – so much like his own.

Lucas pushed Haley from him violently. "What is he doing here?" Lucas spat out.

"He brought Jamie home and was there when you called," Haley told him. "He wanted to come."

"You son of a bitch," Lucas ground out before he charged after Dan landing a punch square on the older man's jaw.


	4. Chapter 4

"Lucas," three voices screamed in unison – Nathan , Haley and Brooke.

Lucas threw them all glances, his eyes wild and fierce.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Nathan rushed to his brother's side and held him by his shoulders.

The Scott brothers directed their glance down to their father Dan Scott, who was slowly rising from the floor. He rubbed his chin and twisted it back and forth.

"Nice right hook," Dan Scott said to Lucas. "So, what wrong do you think I did you this time?" Dan Scott tried very hard to be that new man he claimed to be, but was times like this, the ongoing feud with his forgotten son, that he forgot he was a new man.

"Oh, just you fucking up everyone's lives, as usual" Lucas glared at him. He was about to add to his comment when a movement behind them stopped him.

"Mr. Scott?" A doctor in a green gown and cap asked.

"Yes," again three voices answered. This time it was Lucas, Nathan and Dan.

"Lucas Scott," the doctor amended.

"Yes, that is me." Lucas rushed to the doctor's side. "How is she, how is Peyton?" Lucas noticed he was wringing his hands awaiting the doctor's answer. After all, it was just his life.

"Your wife is in intensive care," the doctor informed Lucas. "There was a placental abruption and I have to tell you we are not comfortable at the moment taking the baby. So we want to discuss other options."

"I don't know what that means?' Lucas looked back at Haley and Brooke. The two women quickly moved to his side.

"This condition involves the detachment of the placenta from the wall of the uterus," the doctor began" The blood clot is formed between the placenta and uterus. Because the placenta is the baby's source of nutrition and oxygen, the baby's life could be at risk."

"So, I still don't understand." Placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans, feeling as if his life was spiraling out of control.

"The best course of action, we believe, is surgery," the doctor put his hand on Lucas' shoulder. "Your wife is only 29 weeks and the baby will have less of a chance of survival outside the womb right now. We can go in and remove the blood clot and re-attach the placenta and I believe this will allow Peyton to continue to carry the baby to term."

"What are the risks?" Brooke spoke up for Lucas who seemed to be in a daze.

"There is always a risk with surgery," the doctor looked at Brooke. "But I think this is the best option for both mother and child. Both are at risk at the moment."

"When do you have to have a decision?" Lucas finally spoke up.

"We need to do this quickly," the doctor's face turned dire. "There is no time to waste."

"Can I see Peyton, before," it seemed Lucas had already made up his mind. "I want to see her."

"Of course," the doctor informed him. "This way."

Lucas followed the doctor through the doorway with the little round window. The door he was denied entry just a few short hours ago.

The doctor lifted the white long curtain to reveal Peyton in the narrow hospital bed. Her face was ashen and her eyes closed, her long blonde lashes touching her cheek. Peyton's arms were at her side which only helped to pronounce her bulging abdomen. The place their baby nestled inside her for now at least.

Lucas rushed to her side and took her hand in his. The faint beeping noise was like a staccato mirroring the beating of his own heart.

"Hey, baby," Lucas said stroking her hair with his other hand. "What kind of mess do you have yourself in now."

Peyton didn't answer.

"So, they want me to okay this surgery," Lucas continued. "To save you and the baby." Fat tears began to fall down his cheek. "I don't know what to do. If I lost you I don't think I could go on and you would never forgive me if I made a choice and we lost our baby."

Lucas leaned down to lay his forehead on hers. "What do I do?" Lucas whispered in her ear.

"Save the baby," Peyton's answered him in a slight voice.

"Peyton?" Lucas lifted his head to stare at her. Peyton's eyes were open and staring at him. "You're awake."

"Whatever happens, save the baby," Peyton told him again. "She is our dream." Peyton stroked her protruding tummy.

Just then Peyton's eyes fluttered an alarm went off. Nurses flooded the tiny area from all sides and pushed Lucas out.

"What is happening," Lucas kept asking as he kept being forced to that damn door with the small round window again. The doctor who had been talking to Lucas rushed up to him.

"We have to do the surgery," he said in a frantic tone. "Do you consent?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Lucas kept saying as he was finally pushed back though the door and away from Peyton.

"What is going on?" Brooke and Haley said as they came to his side.

"Peyton is dying," Lucas told them before he collapsed to the floor in tears.


	5. Chapter 5

The three words by Lucas "Peyton is dying," haunted the small group huddled around Lucas. It seemed like an eternity since he uttered those words balled up on the slick white hospital tile, tears stream down his face.

His best friend and sister-in-law Haley and Peyton's best friend and his former girlfriend Brooke, each of them resting their head on his shoulder holding one of his hands each, flanked Lucas, at the moment. Nathan sat across from them clutching his hands as if in prayer, his head dipped slightly. Off to the side, away from the view of the four-some stood Dan Scott.

Dan knew he should leave, knew Lucas didn't want him there. But there was something compelling him to stay. He was puzzled at Lucas' comments to him and somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind he prayed.

Dan Scott was not a man prone to praying. For his evil deed of killing his brother, and other countless acts of treachery, Dan was assured to be going to hell. So, why waste a moment on a god who had condemned him albeit justifiably?

But on this day he thought about Lucas' young wife in surgery, her life and the life of her child, Lucas' child and his grandchild, hanging in the balance. And it made him think about another young woman in another time, lying in the hospital. How he had to quietly mourn her death and how her death and the events leading up to it lingered with him still. And how the guilt he carried never faded.

He had been secretly happy when his son Nathan started dating Peyton Sawyer. Dan had kept tabs on the young girl for many years. He felt it was his penance. He tried to continue the façade of indifference toward Peyton whenever she came to his home with Nathan. And he was shocked and a bit upset when his son treated Peyton so poorly and they finally broke up for the last time.

It should have shocked him to learn years later that his forgotten son, Lucas, would end up with Peyton Sawyer. Dan would never say this, but he was proud of Lucas for finding his way to Peyton. The girl had to endure so much pain and he was glad to see Ana's daughter had found a man who would adore her.

Now, it seemed Peyton would share the fate of her mother. Dying tragically. And if fate followed the same path, for Dan didn't dare feel an ounce of optimism regarding Peyton's condition, then she would leave behind a motherless child just as Ana did.

"Mr. Scott," the voice of the young doctor who had been caring for Peyton since she arrived brought Dan from his musings. He watched as Lucas rose from his chair and went to stand beside the doctor.

Dan watched Lucas waver slightly and Brooke, Nathan and Haley come to stand beside him and hold him up. It was bad news - Dan just knew it and he felt heartsick for Lucas. They had never had a loving relationship, or even a semblance of a caring one. But Dan never wished this for Lucas, never wanted to see his hopes and dreams die. At least in that regard, Dan could relate.

So, it was with surprise that Dan heard Lucas say "thank you" to the doctor and grab the doctor's hand to shake it. Lucas said thank you numerous times before all four of them grabbed each other into a group hug.

"She is okay, they are okay," Dan heard Lucas say. "Oh my god," Lucas continued.

"When can I see her," Lucas said. Anxious and nervous at the same time to see Peyton - to see his wife.

"It will be a few hours," the doctor informed him. "I just wanted to let you know the surgery went well. We were able to remove the clot and although Peyton will be on bed rest I am confident she can carry to term."

Dan shook his head relieved to hear everything would be okay. Ana would be so happy - so proud.

"Dan," Lucas called to him. Dan turned as Lucas stepped away from his friends and family.

"I don't know why you stayed," Lucas began.

And Dan was sure his soulful son, the one he had abandoned, was going to thank him for his support. He was wrong.

"But don't come back." Lucas said with hatred in his eyes. "All of this," he waved his hands wide. "Is because of you. Don't come near me or near Peyton ever again. You hear me?"

Dan shook his head, turned and walked away. The old Dan Scott would have thrown a verbal barb at Lucas. Cut him to the quick. But the Dan Scott he was now, the one he was trying to be, let Lucas have his moment and simply walked away. It was what Ana would have wanted from him and for her daughter. And he would have done anything for her – even walk away.


	6. Chapter 6

Lucas tentatively walked into Peyton's hospital room. It had seemed more like days then hours since the doctor informed him her surgery had been a success. However, he truly wouldn't believe it until he saw her for himself.

He held the door and shut it softly. His first glance of Peyton caused him to pause. Lying in the hospital bed she was hooked up to every machine it seemed imaginable. There were IV's in both her arms and a tube with tiny prongs rested in each of her nostrils. That damn beeping noise, the one he had heard when he saw her before her surgery, continued its quick staccato.

Walking slowly toward her he noticed a brown chair positioned beside her bed. He grabbed the arm dragging it close to where she lay. His body felt so heavy and easing into the chair, he sighed softly allowing the events of the day to wash over him. He leaned up and took Peyton's hand. Lucas stroked her hand with the pad of his thumb. Her warmth comforted him. She was alive, their baby was alive and their dream was still alive.

"Hey you," he heard Peyton say in a hoarse voice.

Lucas looked up into those green eyes of hers and his breath caught. My god she was awake, she was here - came back to him.

"Hey baby," Lucas said getting up from the hard hospital chair to lean over her and kiss her forehead. As he did so, Lucas stroked her hair with his right hand and then moved his left hand to cover her distended abdomen where their baby was still safely nestled inside her.

"Don't ever do that to me again," Lucas told her in scolding tone. "I think I lost five years and gained even more grey hair." He pointed to his temple where his sandy blonde hair was just as blonde as before but he swore grey hair had sprouted.

"Sorry," Peyton said in a whisper. She tried to force a smile.

"The baby?" It was a question she had been dreading.

"She is fine," Lucas said and then immediately caught his slip. The last ultrasound the doctor had done he had told Lucas his daughter was doing great, and so the great mystery was solved.

Peyton didn't seem to mind as she smiled broadly. "Told you," she said triumphantly.

"Yeah, you did." Lucas leaned down and kissed her lips sweetly. "You scared me so." Lucas admitted. "I can't live without you Peyton, so you can't do this to me again."

"Okay," she kicked up a small smile.

Lucas was pleased with her answer and sat back down in the chair beside her but grabbed Peyton's hand to keep their connection.

Touching her, being with her, wanting to never leave her reminded him of when he was a boy of 16. He and Peyton were in Dan Scott's house, the home of the father who would never claim him. In an upstairs bedroom it seemed all of Lucas' dreams were coming true when Peyton had taken his hand and led him there.

She kissed him deeply with such passion that Lucas was sure he would lose consciousness as the air left his body and seemed he couldn't drag anymore in to replace it. As their clothes quickly began to fade, Lucas looked into those eyes that still held so much innocence and revealed his heart's desire – he wanted everything with her. He wanted her love, he wanted her passion, he wanted her heart and he never wanted to leave her. His intense love for her scared Peyton, and she ran for him.

It seemed they played that game for more years then Lucas cared to count. Push and pull, back and forth but just like two sides of a magnet the draw to each other was too strong to deny.

Some would claim his decision too quick, after the way he had acted, but that night he called Peyton and asked her to come with to Las Vegas and get married, just a few weeks after his failed marriage attempt to Lindsey Strauss, he new his world was righted again. Seven years ago he had told Peyton Sawyer he had wanted everything with her and almost seven years to the day he all but told her again, and this time was the right time and she came to him with the same intent.

"I want everything with you," he heard Peyton tell him from her hospital bed. "I couldn't leave without it." She smiled at him and he returned the smile.

"And we can have it." Lucas pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "We have it."

"Good," Peyton said as her eyes drifted shut. It has been a trying 24 hours and it weighed on her as she drifted to sleep.

"Lucas," he heard her say his name surprised because he thought she has already drifted off to sleep.

"Yeah?" He leaned closer to her.

"I need to see Dan when I wake up," she told him in a matter of fact manner. "I have to talk to him."

"Peyton." Lucas began intent on telling her he didn't want Dan Scott with in 10 feet of his wife and unborn child. But she was already asleep and Lucas was left there in the hospital room torn with his emotions. Did he start a fight with his wife who had just cheated death for a second time in her life or do what he always did when it came to Peyton Sawyer Scott – and move heaven and earth to do what she asked of him?

Lucas walked out of the hospital room, down the hall and to the elevator and rode it to the ground floor. He walked outside letting the crisp morning air fill his lounges. He leaned up against the wall, pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Dan Scott's number.

When Peyton asked to speak to Dan, Lucas' decision, though against his better judgment, was already made – he would call Dan. Because at the end of the day he would and did do anything for Peyton, it was the way it would always be and that never changed.


	7. Chapter 7

Dan Scott stepped off the hospital elevator still unsure why he was here. Not 24 hours ago Lucas had told him to leave and never come back. Then, this morning he gets a call from Lucas telling him to meet him at the hospital.

He knew his forgotten son Lucas Scott had been through hell. He had come so close to losing his wife Peyton and unborn child. Maybe Lucas wanted to apologize for his actions and harsh words. Dan didn't expect it but he hoped that was the case. He knew what he had done to Lucas and how he had treated him, but Dan was growing older and facing his mortality and that made him think of all the evil deeds he had done and how had treated those around him.

Dan turned right and just as he was making his way down the hospital corridor, Lucas stepped from around the corner and directly in front of him.

"Dan," Lucas said in a tone of mild shock. "You came."

"You called," Dan answered back quickly.

Lucas looked as if he was truly shocked Dan had come when he called.

"What is it, Lucas," Dan asked. "Is it Peyton?"

Lucas stepped back slightly. He hated this man even saying Peyton's name. It was as if him saying her name soiled it a bit. He couldn't stand to think Dan near Peyton, he hated him that much. But Peyton wanted to see him, but seeing him and getting him to tell her what she wanted to hear, would be two different things -at least, if it was up to Lucas.

"In a way it is Peyton," Lucas shifted on the balls of his feet. "She wants to see you, wants to talk to you."

"About what?" Dan was intrigued now.

"About this," Lucas told him. He reached around and pulled a letter out of his back pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to Dan.

"What is this?" Dan opened the flap of the envelope and took out the lone sheet of paper. It was folded in two perfect halves and after Dan opened them he read the first line and his face went white.

"Where did you get this?" It wasn't an accusing question. It as a question born of shock.

"Peyton found it in the torn lining of a music box that belonged to her mother," Lucas told Dan. "She read it and that is what started all this." He waved his hand wide and then threw Dan a hard stare.

"It's true, isn't it?" The comment was phrased as a question but it was more of an accusation by Lucas. "You fucked up their lives as well."

"It wasn't like that, Lucas," Dan tried to explain. He put the letter back in the envelope and held it in his right hand. "Things happened, got out of control."

"Damn, I have never been so glad that Peyton was adopted," Lucas chuckled slightly though it was far from a jovial laugh. "Wait, you didn't know Ellie too did you?"

"No," Dan shook his head. "Ana was there for me through a rough time, in fact I was there for her as well."

"I bet you were," Lucas' comments were dripping with condemnation.

"You weren't there, Lucas," Dan said. "You…." he tried to continue before Lucas stopped him.

"Look, I don't care about taking a trip down the life and times of Dan Scott," Lucas walked closer to Dan standing directly in front of him. "What I care about is in that room down there." Lucas pointed to room 601 where Peyton lay.

"Now, I have never asked you for anything," Lucas continued. "But I am today." Lucas took a deep breath. "When Peyton asks you about that letter, you lie to her. Tell her nothing about you and Ana."

"But, Lucas," Dan tried to say before held his hand up and shook his head.

"No, I mean it, Dan," Lucas pointed his finger at him. "She had this one perfect memory of her mother, of her mother loving her father. I will not take that away from her, I will not let you take it away from her. Do you understand?"

Dan shook his head yes. How could he deny Lucas this one request after all he had put him through, all he had done to him, all the things he never did for him. And Ana's daughter – she deserved happiness and Lucas could give it to her. He was always there to protect and save Peyton. Ana would have loved Lucas, his son.

Dan never thought how perfect it truly was. When he was with Ana he was a different man, she made him want to be different. Want to be good, to be better. He wasn't bitter, he wasn't regretful, he was just happy. He saw that in Lucas when he was with Peyton. Dan knew Ana never really loved him, like he loved her. Ana's heart was always with Larry, she just got confused for a while, and Dan was part of that confusion. Giving her up was hard, but knowing her death was his fault nearly broke him. Perhaps that was where his true bitterness was born, that happiness slipped through his fingers and he cost so many others their happiness as well – a young girl lost a mother and a young man lost the love of his life.

But today he could repay that debt in a way. Look into the eyes of Lucas' young wife and lie to her. Tell her that the Dan in the letter was not him, that it must have been someone from Ana's past, before Larry. Give these two, Lucas and Peyton, the foundation for a sound, true and happy life. It wasn't much, it would never bring Ana back, but maybe it would give him a semblance of peace and maybe show his soulful son Lucas that he could change, that Dan Scott was once a good man all those years ago when a girl named Ana loved him.


	8. Chapter 8

Dan Scott stepped tentatively into Peyton's hospital room. She heard him enter and put down the pencil she had been using to draw on the large white pad being propped on her swollen abdomen.

Dan peeked at the drawing noticing she had drawn a cherub faced baby being carried in the mouth of a stork. The caption read "Here Comes Baby." Dan couldn't help himself, he chuckled.

"Are you wishing that," he pointed to Peyton's drawing. "Was where babies really came from?"

Peyton put the pad and pencil beside her and put her hands on her tummy. "After the last couple of days?" Peyton rose her eyebrow. "Yes." She smiled softly.

"Lucas said you wanted to see me?" Dan wanted to get this over with.

"Yes," Peyton took a deep breath. "I could sugar coat this, but I won't. So here goes." Peyton lifted her right hand and pushed an unruly strand of dark blonde hair from her eye. "Did you know my mother Ana?"

"Why would you ask that?" Dan thought he was doing a good job of playing it vague.

"I found a letter in my mom's music box addressed to you." Peyton looked at Dan expectantly.

"What did it say?" Dan kept throwing a question back at Peyton's question.

"It said my dearest, Dan," Peyton told him. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Dan is a common name," Dan said. He moved closer to the bed where Peyton lay. "I knew your mother, but I didn't KNOW her." He stressed the last know.

"You're lying." Peyton told him. "I can see it in your eyes."

"Peyton, I don't know what fantasy you have cooked up but I don't know anything about that letter or why it said what it did." Dan stepped away from her. "I am sorry I wasted your time, but I am glad to see you doing better." He turned to leave.

"Dan," Peyton said stopping him from walking out the door. "If you know nothing about the letter then why is it sticking out of your jacket pocket? I recognize the pink trim around the edges."

Damn, Dan thought. He had forgotten to give the incriminating letter back to Lucas.

"Lucas got to you, didn't he?" Peyton reached out her hand and smoothed out the blanket covering her. "He didn't want you telling me the truth."

"Lucas is just trying to protect you," Dan said all but admitting her speculations were true. "He loves you and doesn't want anything to give you stress."

"I know," Peyton smiled sweetly. "But I need to know, Dan." Her eyes were pleading. "I need to know why my mom, who everyone said loved my father so, cheated on him and with you."

"It's in the past, Peyton," Dan tried to say. "Why don't you leave it there?"

"I can't." Peyton pressed. "I need to know if it was cheap and sordid or if she cared for you. Why she did it?"

"It was never that way," Dan told her. "We both needed something and for a while we found it with each other."

Dan's gaze wandered to the hospital window to the left of Peyton. The sun was shining bright, the day was warming quickly and he could feel the sun filtering through the glass and warming his hand. Warming him the way Ana did all those years ago.

"I remember the first time I saw Ana," Dan began. He seemed to be a million miles away as he started to recount how his life became intertwined with the life of Ana Sawyer.


	9. Chapter 9

Dan Scott first saw Ana Sampson when he was 12-years-old and she was a very old young girl of 16. It was the first time he got that funny feeling after seeing a girl. She had just moved down the block from his house. He watched her help her parents move in boxes and longed to help her.

It was funny. Dan never felt compelled to help anyone. Not his mom, not his dad and especially not his older brother Keith.

Bouncing the basketball that seemed to be permanently attached to his hand he dribbled it two more times before turning and shot the ball, smiling with cocky assurance as it sailed through the hoop. He lived and breathed basketball but for the first time in his young life, something other then basketball occupied his mind. It was the young girl with long blonde hair, an infectious smile and tanned legs.

He found himself riding his bike past her house almost every day, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He had learned her name was Ana when he heard her mother calling her one day.

Sitting on the curb, Dan balanced the basketball between his knees trying to find a reason to go over to her house. Maybe his mother needed to borrow some sugar – after all she was always baking. He went into the house and asked her if she needed sugar. She threw him a perplexed look and said no she had just bought some at the store. Darn, he thought.

The weeks past, and Dan spent all his time outside, basketball in his hands and his eyes on the Sampson house. One day a few months after Ana had moved in, Dan was making his third loop around the block, making sure to again pass Ana's house when the tire of his bike hit a jagged rock and he felt himself being propelled over the handlebars.

His world went black for a moment and then he opened his eyes to see the girl he had been watching standing over him. She kept asking him if he was okay, and all Dan could do was shake his head yes slowly.

Wow, he thought. All he had to do was wreck his bike. Why hadn't he done this weeks ago? He was about to say something to Ana when a shadow crossed his path and Dan realized Ana wasn't alone.

A young boy, that looked to be about Ana'a age, stood beside her. Dan heard him ask Ana if he, Dan, was okay.

"I think so," she told him. "You are okay?" She asked Dan.

Dan jumped up, dusted off his jeans and straightened his favorite blue shirt. "I'm fine," his voice cracked as he spoke. "Really, I am."

"Oh," Ana said sweetly. "You have a scrape on your elbow." She touched his elbow lightly. "Do you live around here?"

That deflated Dan more then he cared to admit. She didn't even know he lived across the street.

"Larry," she turned to the guy dressed in jeans, a baseball shirt and letterman jacket. "Do you think we need to take him home?"

"Nah," Dan said waving his hand. "I just live across the street."

"Oh, you are one of the Scott boys?" Larry jutted his head across the street. "Your brother must be Keith. He is a good baller."

"Not as good as me," Dan grumbled. "I win every time."

"That is great, kid," Larry said leaning over to ruffle Dan's hair. "The Ravens could use a good shooter in a few years."

"After you leave," Ana told him. And she practically beamed up at him. And as she did so, Dan Scott's young and fragile heart broke just a little.

The next time Dan Scott saw Ana Sampson, she was sitting in the bleachers of the Tree Hill Community gym, her gaze locked onto the young girl with unruly blonde hair and an infectious smile. The young girl, that looked to be about eight-years-old like his son Nathan, was thin and a bit uncoordinated but the look in Ana's eyes told him she thought the girl was amazing.

It had been years since Dan had seen his boyhood crush. He had heard Ana had married Larry Sawyer, the boy that had helped him up when he had wrecked his bike in front of her house. People talked about their great love affair, and how they had married straight out of high school. He hadn't seen her in years but when he did see her, the object of his crush still caused his heart to quicken just a bit – after all no one ever forgot their first crush.

"Which one is yours?" Dan asked as he sat down beside her though he could tell from her gaze which one was her daughter.

She looked up at him and beamed. "That one." She pointed to the blonde with the tangled mess of hair. "She is trying so hard." Ana smiled again.

"You?" Ana assumed, Dan realized, that one of the girls in the cheerleading uniforms was his daughter.

"That one." Dan pointed with pride as the boys came running out on the court. He smiled as his son Nathan jogged out on the court, basketball attached to his hand just as it had been with him when he was young.

"Oh, so my daughter is cheering on your son." Ana smiled.

"Yeah." Dan's gaze didn't leave Nathan as he warmed up. He assessed every movement of his son gauging what he was doing right and what he was doing wrong so he could go over it with him when they got home. Nathan was going to be a great basketball player and he wasn't going to let his opportunities slip through his fingers. Let others tell him what to do.

"You are Dan Scott, aren't you?" Ana asked. She shifted slightly to look him in the eyes. "We used to live across the street from you when I first moved to Tree Hill."

"Yeah, I am." Dan marveled at how beautiful Ana was. Even more beautiful then when he was a boy.

"Now, here we are," Ana placed her hand on the bleacher. "Sitting here watching our kids. Time flies."

"Sometimes too quickly," Dan said with a hint of a regret. "And we never get to be who we were meant to be."

"Or maybe one missed opportunity gives you the chance to find another one." Ana smiled.

"Not likely," Dan told her grimly. He was bitter. He admitted it. Though he loved his son, and what his son could do on the basketball court – regret and what could have been for him as a player plagued him and it always would.

"I am sorry you feel that way." Ana turned back to watch her daughter.

Dan could tell he had put her off. And he didn't want to – didn't want to stop talking to her. So, he did something he never did, he asked questions, he pretended to care about her answers. But the funny thing was, he did care, for the first time, he cared what someone else had to say.

Dan asked what her daughter's name was, if she had married Larry, though he already knew that answer, what she was doing now and what her plans were. He learned that her daughter's name was Peyton, yes she had married Larry, that she was in real estate and that she and Larry hoped to have a second child some day. But for now, they had Peyton and Peyton was a comfort to her since Larry had taken a job on a drudging boat to make extra money for the family. He also learned Larry had been at sea for over two months and that Ana missed him and Peyton longed to see her father.

Dan could tell Ana loved Larry and missed him deeply. His own wife, Deb, had been out of town for the last month but he could honestly say he didn't miss her, not one bit.

Their conversations continued throughout the basketball season, and after the Tree Hill Bulls lost in the semi-finals of the championship, Dan knew his time with Ana was coming to a close. He had to think of something.

A week after the basketball season ended, Dan called Ana and asked her if she minded continuing their weekly conversations. After all they had become friends, and didn't friends have coffee from time to time.

Ana jumped at the chance, she saw Dan as a true friend. What she didn't know is that Dan saw her as something more.


	10. Chapter 10

It became a weekly tradition. Dan and Ana would meet every Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. at a small coffee shop in downtown Tree Hill. They would talk about their week, their kids and as the weeks went on the conversations began to move into their hopes and dreams.

Larry came home and Ana told Dan how happy she was to have him back. How wonderful he was to their daughter Peyton and how Peyton seemed to light up when her father was home. Ana also shared with Dan her fears for her daughter, how she seemed to go within herself and hold things in and it seemed only Ana was the only one that could bring her out of it.

Dan told Ana about his wife Deb being gone for weeks at a time with her job. How a lot of the responsibility of raising his son Nathan had fallen to him. He feared sometimes all they had in common was basketball and wondered if he was too hard on the boy.

Ana would smile at Dan and shake her head yes telling him "maybe a bit." Dan would dip his head in agreement and smile sweetly at her. It was the only time he truly smiled, Dan realized, when she was with Ana.

He built his week around the hour he spent with Ana at the coffee shop on the corner. He could tell her anything and though all Ana saw in their meetings was friendship, Dan's was more. Dan knew with a matter of fact that he was truly and deeply in love with Ana Sawyer.

Dan had thought he had been in love before. He thought he loved Karen Roe, but basketball always came before her. He thought he loved Deb but in reality he loved her money more. But with Ana he wanted to be a better person for her, he wanted to make her smile, he loved her and he wanted her to love him back.

Being a better person prompted him to tell Ana about Lucas. It was a hard conversation because he wanted Ana to only see the best of him.

"I am sure you have heard the stories," Dan said one day in September. The summer days were quickly giving way to the feel of autumn. Leaves were changing from dark green to vibrant red and orange.

"What stories," Ann asked as she sipped her coffee. She smiled up at him.

Dan felt his heart skip a beat before he began. "That I have another son," Dan said in a matter of fact tone. "His name is Lucas Scott and he plays basketball with Nathan. I got a girl pregnant before I left for college." Dan added that fact before Ana could ask.

"Is he the cute blonde haired boy that wears the No. 3?" And cocked her head and brushed her light blonde hair from her face.

"Yeah," Dan said dipping his head. "He doesn't know I am his dad, or at least I don't think he does."

"He is such a sweet boy," Ana told him. "I remember he was the one that went and got the nurse the day Peyton fell from the swings and broke her arm in second grade. I don't think Peyton ever knew who went and got someone for her but the teacher told me it was Lucas."

Dan felt a sense of pride he had never felt for Lucas build up.

"I have noticed too that Lucas kind of watches Peyton while at basketball," Ana giggled. "I think he has a bit of a crush on her." She took her napkin and dabbed her lips.

"I want to tell him," Dan finally admitted to Ana. "That I am his dad. I am not sure how Karen will feel about it but I think a boy needs his father."

"You should do it," Ana encouraged him. "You are a good man, Dan. And no matter your history with his mother, Lucas needs his dad in his life."

"Thank you, Ana," Dan said taking Ana's hand and stroking it softly. "You always know what to say."

"That is what friends are for," Ana said as she slowly pulled her hand from under Dan's. She smiled at him but it had a hint of discomfort.

"Ana," Dan began. "I have to tell you something."

"Dan, don't." Ana warned scrunching up her brow.

"Ana, please," Dan pleaded. He leaned in closer to her. "I have loved our time together. Ana, I love you."

"Dan, I wish you hadn't said that," Ana told him. She collected her belongings and stood. "I have to go, Dan."

"Ana, wait," Dan said as he stood as well. "Please, stay."

"No, Dan," Ana told him. "I have to get back."

And she turned from him and left.

"So, you and my mother," Peyton began. Not wanting to finish her sentence asking if Dan slept with her mother.

"No," Dan said as if gauging her question. "All your mother wanted was my friendship. It was me who wanted more."

"But," Dan continued. "My wanting more is what cost your mother her life."

"What?" Peyton's face turned ashen.

It was then Dan told the story he hadn't told a single soul. The day of Peyton's mother's accident and death, Dan had called Ana and asked her to meet him one last time, this time in his office. He had told her he had to see her one, that he wanted her advice about how to approach Lucas' mother about seeing the boy. Knowing it involved Lucas, the boy who had helped her daughter Peyton, she had agreed.

Ana met Dan that afternoon at his dealership. Dan ushered Ana in his office and he at first talked exclusively about Lucas. After Ana had counseled Dan on how to approach Karen, then Dan went on to pleading his case. He didn't want to loose her, he couldn't loose her.

Dan pleaded with her asking her to love him. Ana kept telling him she loved Larry and only Larry. Dan pulled Ana close and kissed her and she responded by slapping him. It was then Dan saw a hint of terror in her eyes and he backed away.

"I am sorry, Ana," Dan said near tears. "Please forgive me."

"I forgive you, Dan," Ana told him. "But we can't see each other anymore."

"Just stay for a while and talk to me," Dan was desperate.

It was then Ana looked at the clock and realized she was going to be late picking Peyton up. She told Dan she had to go, that Peyton was the kind of child who feared the worst if Ana was just a minute late picking her up.

He watched her hurry out the door, noticing it was 2:25 p.m. and calculating that Ana would be late picking up Peyton from school. He hoped Peyton wouldn't be too upset that he had made Ana late, even if the girl would never know why her mother had been tardy.

"So see, it was my fault Ana died," Dan said. He took two steps away from Peyton. "I kept her from leaving to go and pick you up."

"No, Dan," Peyton said surprising Dan with her answer. "It was just, I don't know, something stupid that happens in life. She ran a red light at the wrong time. Believe me, I ran enough tempting fate, and nothing ever happened to me."

That shocked Dan. That this girl would tempt fate to see if it would catch up with her like it did her mother. But Ana had always said that Peyton was haunted by a hint of darkness.

"Thank you, Dan," Peyton said. "For sharing this with me, for sharing another part of my mother with me," she smiled at him.

Dan knew Ana wasn't Peyton's biological daughter but at that moment he swore he saw Ana in Peyton's smile. Maybe it was because he saw Ana's good in Peyton and how Peyton had brought out the best in his son, Lucas. The way she had brought out the good in him for at least a few short months all those years ago.

"Well, I will let you get some rest," Dan said. "Take care, Peyton. And take care of that baby. I think she is going to be something special."

Peyton dipped her head and rubbed her tummy where her daughter nestled inside her.

Lucas was waiting outside Peyton's room when Dan walked out.

"You were in there a long time just to let Peyton know you didn't know anything," Lucas said. He leaned up against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.

"I didn't lie to her, Lucas," Dan told him. He put his hands in his pants pockets.

"I asked you to do one thing," Lucas kicked away from the wall. "One thing." He held up his index finger at Dan as if to drive home the point.

"She is a smart girl," Dan said. "She figured it out. Besides, you both made more out of the story then it was."

Dan smiled at Lucas and walked way. "You should go see your wife," Dan said over his shoulder as he walked to elevator and pushed the down button.

Lucas watched Dan wait for the elevator and step in and leave before he turned and went into Peyton's hospital room.

"Hey baby," Peyton said as Lucas walked in and went straight to her. He leaned down and kissed her temple.

"Hey, yourself." He kissed her on the lips and then hooked his foot around the leg of the chair and sat down beside her. "So, I just saw Dan leave." No hiding anything now, Lucas guessed.

"Yeah," Peyton bobbed her head up and down yes. "Listen," she held out her hand and Lucas put his in hers. "I understand you wanted to protect me, but I am glad Dan told me the truth."

"That your mom cheated on your dad with my dad," Lucas asked with a hint of disgust.

"It wasn't like that," Peyton said. "It was far from it." She turned her head and looked out the hospital window. The sun was high in the sky now and she could tell the wind was blowing slightly as the trees swayed in some silent rhythm.

Peyton couldn't shake the story Dan told her. It sounded so similar – almost a parallel to her and Lucas. Finding that one person that could make your life complete – they had almost lost that, letting fear and insecurities almost tear them apart. Peyton could see what Dan had become forming in Lucas after his failed marriage attempt with Lindsey, in fact maybe before. But Peyton had learned to fight, thanks to her brother Derek, and she wasn't going to let Lucas take that path. Their happiness depended on it.

Now, she and Lucas were happy and beginning a new life together with a new life. They were talking this journey without a road map, but it was okay because they were partners in that adventure.

Dan never had that. His chances slipped by, whether thanks to fate or his own design. Now he was a broken and at times bitter man who no one wanted in their lives. He had his chance and never gave anyone the opportunity to take his journey with him.

So, Peyton was glad that her mother gave him a few weeks of happiness. She didn't begrudge Dan his moments of happiness with her mother because Peyton was secure in the knowledge that Ana Sawyer loved her father Larry and for a time gave a man named Dan Scott a bit of peace. Just as she, Peyton, Ana's daughter, was giving a lifetime of peace and love to his son Lucas.

Peyton turned back to Lucas and smiled. She squeezed his hand. "So, how about you tell me about the time in second grade? Seems you were and are always saving me."

Lucas dipped his head and smiled shyly all the while shaking his head.


End file.
